photo tip: get close . . . no, even closer .

This photo tip is an easy one to try.  No special equipment necessary. Just a disregard for personal space and boundaries.  Luckily, your kids won't mind. Tip: Get CLOSE

No, I don't shoot many shots this close.  It hardly ever happens.  But what if I didn't at least try it out yesterday in the park with little Evangeline?  Then I never would have documented her cute Summer freckles.

Life with digital cameras mean you can take a gazillion shots and not worry if they don't work out.  I took roughly 10 shots of Evangeline standing exactly this way and got this one, perfect shot. But sometimes I take 30 shots and don't get that perfect shot. But it's okay, because I learn in the process about what works and what I can improve in my photography.

 Try this out this week!You may just get a photograph you fall in love with.And please share any great shots with me via email!

[ emilie ]

Tutorial: Photoshop Action Installation & Use

Since my Photoshop Actions 101 post (found here) I had a few questions.
The number one being "How do I install my Photoshop Actions?"

Now, when I show you, don't feel like a lame-o. Because when I got my first set I had the same question and then realized how EASY it really is!

Let's go!

(I am going to use FREE Actions from The Pioneer Woman for this tute. These are a wonderful starter set...just sayin'.)

1. Click here to go to PW website.

2. Click to download your actions and unzip onto your desktop (or folder of your choice).

3. Double click on the .atn file to open it. Now, something magical occurs. Your installed Photoshop program will automatically begin to run and the actions will load into your Photoshop program.

4. Click Alt+F9 and your pallets menu will appear. It looks like this...

Note: If your Actions are not there, don't despair. With Photoshop open, minimize it slightly so you have Photoshop up and you can see your Actions file on your desktop. Now simply click and drag the Actions file to anywhere in your Photoshop screen. It should install.

5. Click on the blue arrow to the left of the title of your set.  Now it should drop down to show different actions within this set.

Now you're ready to PLAY!

1. Open a photo of your choice in Photoshop.
2. Size it to something reasonable, say 5x7" at 300 dpi.
3. Save it as a NEW file.  You don't want to mess with the original photo and then accidentally save it, therefore replacing the original.  You can try these actions out all you like on this new file and not have to worry about anything being permanent.
4. Open your newly saved photo.

 5. Choose an action to try. I'm going to do "Fresh & Colorful".  Click once to highlight.  Then pouch the "Play" button.

6. Most Actions will just run straight through and give you a finished result.  But some actions give you some freedom to tweak their effects.  A box may appear that gives you instructions you may choose to carry out before moving forward. 

7. Adjust layers and press "Stop" button in pop-up box when finished or just press "Stop" button to skip this step. 

8. When you're happy with the look you need to put the pieces of this photo back together into one layer.  Do this by "Playing" the Pioneer Woman's Flatten Action or by choosing Layer > Flatten Image.

Now, you're done!  Save the image and enjoy the results!

Any questions?

Tutorial : White Balance Correction

This is by far my favorite Photoshop tool. Photography is a tricky science that depends largely on light. You almost always want to shoot in natural light, but the truth is, our lives often happen indoors in unnatural lighting. Here is a picture from our Thanksgiving. There was no natural light coming from the windows, so the main source of lighting was this chandelier with yellow cast bulbs. Using a flash would create odd shadows, blown out faces and red eye. But taken with the flash off and with this Photoshop trick it can be made right.

Here is the picture as it came straight from my camera...

Pretty yellowed and dingy, huh? No worries! First, open up your photo in Photoshop.

Now hit Ctrl+L to open the Levels Tool. Click on the eyedropper tool on the far right that is white.

Make sure the Preview box is checked. Now click on an area of your photo that SHOULD be pure white. This may take a few clicks on different white spot to find the one that best corrects your image.

Play around, nothing is permanent. If you get completely off track just hit cancel and try again.

Sometimes the tint is corrected, but this process slightly washes out your photo. No worries. In the Levels toolbox click and drag on the black arrow and slide it towards the center until you have achieved a look you like.

There! You're done! Let's look at the fixed photo...

This trick is especially great for photos of little ones at bath time. Bathrooms often have yucky yellow lighting and limited windows. This tool makes your bath time photos bright and fresh! This is also great for correcting the tint of vintage photos with an odd cast or that weirdly pink glow some of my baby photos had.

Now go forth and color correct! Enjoy!

tutorial: rounded photo corners

Here is a tutorial on using my Rounded Corners Template in Photoshop. I am using Photoshop CS2, but the same principles will also work in Photoshop Elements. This is made specifically for use on a blog so the photo size will be reduced.

First, download your rounded corners file by clicking here.






1. Open your photo in Photoshop and crop to a 5x7" size in either portrait or landscape.
2. Resize your photo so that the longest edge (either height or width) is 500px by clicking Image > Image Size and then typing 550 into one of the top two fields.






3. Open the rounded corner file.






4. If your photo is portrait style then you must first rotate the rounded corners file. Do this by clicking image > rotate canvas > 90* CW. If your picture is cropped into a landscape then omit this step.






5. Next select the move tool from the toolbox.






Click on the rounded corner file once, this makes sure that Photoshop knows this is the file you will be moving. Click on it, holding down the button, and drag it over top of your photo. It should click into place once you release the mouse button.

You should now notice two layers in your layers pallet instead of just one.






6. Now you need ot make your two layers into one again. Click Layer > Flatten Image.






Now you should have one layer called "Background" again.






7. Save as a jpg file and post to your blog per your blog's method. You're done!

 

Tutorial: Photoshop Actions

A few years back I had a bunch of people ask what camera I use to take my photos. Back then I was shooting with a normal...everyday...little Sony digital DSC-W5. Fits in my purse. No lenses to lug around. And the best part? Set on auto mode with the flash turned off. No aperture and ISO for me...I didn't really know what those things were back then. So how did I get such good photos? The answer.....Photoshop Actions.

So just what are "actions"? Say a fancy-shmancy professional photographer takes some photos and loads them onto her computer to enhance (or "proof") them. She might sharpen the image. Adjust the lighting. Enhance certain colors...all to get a certain effect. As she proofs her photos, our imaginary photographer records and saves every step that she takes. She can then save all of these steps and turn them into an "action".

So, an action is a set of photo altering steps used to achieve a certain look. Get it? So instead of a amateur like me actually learning about how to use every single little tool in Photoshop to make a photo black and white and enhance the contrast...I can just buy some genius' Photoshop Actions and they do it for me.

You plunk any photo into Photoshop and hit a play button and the steps do ALL of the work for you. And there are infinite numbers of actions to try...from making your photos into comic book characters, making them look warn and vintage, sharpening, rounding corners...and much much more.



(click to enlarge. Courtesy of Mindy's Photo Actions)

You can always use Google to search for free actions to try out. A good resource for free actions is Action Central and the Adobe Photoshop Exchange. The Pioneer Woman offers a free set on her blog that I LOVE.

You can also buy some if you can't find free ones you like or find a certain photographer whose proofing you really love. Before you purchase any Action sets make sure they are compatible with your particular program. Some are only for Photoshop Elements and others only run in regular Photoshop.

A popular site is Itty Bitty Actions. Their sets run for around $100 and you get a large number of actions (around 50). But my favorite set is perfect, inexpensive and worth every penny. Mindy's Photo Actions Vibrant Color set. I bought them at http://mindysphotoactions.blogspot.com/. Mindy herself will help you install them and answer any questions you may have. This makes them perfect for a beginner who is unsure about installation and utilizing them. She sells them for cheaper in small sets so you can just buy what you want and add more later as desired. I use her "Vibrant Color" on pretty much every photo I take and often use her "Soft Indoor Light" as well. Here's a little before and after so you can get the feeling of what these actions can do for you.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I'm not being overly dramatic when I say that Actions have changed my life. They have enhanced my photographs so much that I felt proud enough of family photos recently to frame them and hang them in my Living Room. I just can't live without my (I mean Mindy's) Actions and my freebie Pioneer Woman set.

What do YOU think? . Have you ever tried Photoshop Actions? Would you like to try them? Do you think they are worth the money or do you prefer more traditional photos? Do you have a favorite set you want to share?

P.S. Stay tuned for a coming lesson on installing and using actions in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.